Eating disorder symptoms – What to do?

In the fitness industry, eating disorder symptoms are quite common. You are in a period of dieting for so long that you are craving that usual food that you used to eat on a regular basis. This is often with bodybuilding competitions they starve them self for a long period of time risking a lot of their health in order to get a piece of 4 dollar trophy which is not that worthy to put in jeopardy your health for.

But I understand that people are passionate about their own niche in sport and I cant say boxing isn’t that healthy at all in my case, so I understand that it requires passion to do that kind of thing. SO you win or lose a competition and the first thing that cross your mind after long months of dieting its to have a big cheat meal.

This where the problem will start with a lot of athletes since I am not saying to eat a cheat meal but sometimes we eat mindlessly with no purpose but to satisfy some sort of thought or emotions. Here are some suggestions I ‘ll recommend in order for controlling your cravings because of this also the main factor while on a diet you need to be disciplined but don’t look at it as a struggle because then you find your self-trying to reward for sticking along with the diet.

Plan your cheat meals

Same has tracking your macros or calories you need to plan when are you going to cheat on the diet. It will be more rewarding to allow your self just one day but be careful of not to overdo it since this could cost you weeks of dieting effort. And I am writing from the knowing because I lived this several time and your mind plays a big role in it.

By planning and rewarding your self you are psychologically making the process of diet more fun because you earn it and deserve it for all that hard work you put in. It will make you stick to your diet more because you will still get to enjoy what you want to eat and still look good plus a huge benefit for a cheat meal is that it might boost your metabolic rate since your body its soo adapted on eating a certain amount of calories and this will shock the system a bit.

Meditate

The mind is the one who will tell you go eat that cheeseburger and encourage you to keep eating after cheating the diet. The sad part is also the mind will then play games with you after cheating like saying “oh you just screw up” and feeling guilty about it. To meditate is to observe in detail what your mind it’s telling at that moment or emotions,

When we begin to identify those triggers for those thoughts or emotions that make us sabotage our diet the easier will be to say no to it. And believe me, it will be painful but will be so worthy because you’re sticking to your words and integrating with your actions. Living in the present moment will free you from a lot of anxiety because you are not thinking about when it’s your next cheat day and if you’re thinking about it hopefully you already plan about it.

Meditation will also provide you more focus on your daily activity, its like I am gonna try to describe why we get bored to some of our essential task like working on your job. It’s like having a bunch of cookie jars open but you don’t even know where to put your hands on and those cookie jars resemble a lot of distractions or different interests that are currently running on your head.

What if you just start reducing those cookie jars and you will find your self less struggling to a so call bored activity because you’re not thinking what to do after work you are just experiencing what works feels like it. You are not reacting just responding and that’s what we are looking for ultimately in the practice of meditation to be able to be self-aware of our actions.

Journal

A simple weight scale.

Keep in a track of a food journal just like in this article.T this is your blueprint for not to go way overboard on your calories if you are tracking them. We often think we are in control of our portions and we think we are eye measuring right, that’s why I recommend tracking exact portions with a food scale. Now if you are in a fast food your life can be a bit easier since in my fitness pal all the calories are tracked for that guilty pleasure that you are looking to tackle on. That way if I grab a snicker I know how much I am getting out of it and plus by being on a flexible diet eliminate the big stress of simply being on a diet that you don’t enjoy.

Still struggling?

If you feel you are stuck in a vicious cycle of cheating more often then normal then think about taking a break from dieting but I am not saying go eat and binge all you want just increase your calories and keep consistent and let the body heal because believe it or not dieting its a stressful process to be in.

Your body and mind won’t like it obviously same when you’re pushing your self out of a comfort zone. Most of our limitations began in the mind and finish with our body taking action as we are possessed by the voices of our head. Its ok to fail it is not the end of your life because you couldn’t stick to it.

While taking a break from dieting I would recommend analyzing carefully what happened in the journey, what causes trigger your mind to behave that way, believe me, most of the time its just emotional or wrong thoughts and we have control over that when we finally start bringing awareness in our life.

Bonus

I decided to let a motivational video at the end of this article, I know the guy it’s really intense but if you are for real about achieving an above average physique you need this type of intensity and motivation.

12 thoughts on “Eating disorder symptoms – What to do?”

Thanks Erick,
This is a really good one. I have never heard of planning cheat meals. I have heard of planning healthy meals but in the real world we always slip back into cheat meals. Planning these cheat meals is a great idea. And the video is embedded with solid lessons too.

Thank you , some times that super food can be that little candy that you have been craving for and by learning how to be flexible and integrate this on the diet chances is that you are gonna end up more happy maintaining it has a lifestyle instead of a temporary fix.

It’s great you provide these tips!
I have a body builder friend and i see her struggling at times, i really didn’t know how to help her out or what to say as i’m not very knowledgeable in that area, but now I understand better.
I respect people that dedicate themselves to their passions, it requires a lot discipline, but they should still remember to take care of their health.
I will pass on this info to my friend, Thank you!

I didn’t know that people who do bodybuilding competition starve them self. I thought they were eating a lot of proteins and stuff like that. I am really surprised about this:) I’ve tried many diets so far, and all I can say is that it really did some damages. If there is one thing I will never do again in my life is going on a diet. I just changed the way I was eating, and that’s what changed my life for the better. I think that the more you deprive yourself, the more you get frustrated. Just question. If bodybuilders go on a starving diet, how can they even have the strength to lift weights?

Lets not generalize here , not every bodybuilder has to starve to dead, some really bad coaches will do inhuman diets to poor competitors. As far of dieting doing damaging its real, I gotta touch on the topic of reverse dieting soon to give clarity what to do after a long period of dieting. Thanks for taking the time to read the article.

I think keeping a journal can really help since even though it does not help directly just seeing it and being aware of the situation can definitely help. Using a fitness pall is a really good idea. I used to do that when I was tracking my calorie intake. I will definitely try this journaling I really hope it will help.

Having a journal will always be a good way to take a look back also and re evaluate in terms if it needs any adjustment during the process of dieting. It will never be a linear thing it will always have ups and down. But keeping a good attitude and being consistence its key.